But there are still perceived barriers to the adoption of climate neutral print. And ‘perception’ is the crucial word here: there are many misconceptions about what green print means, how it works and what it costs.

BrunelOne.com recently commissioned some research to look into why businesses and specifically, creative agencies – might not choose a green printer.

We found that only half of those surveyed have environmental policies in their business, and of these, two thirds only reference it when requested to do so by a new business tender. One third of all those surveyed only buy green print when requested to do so by a client.

Almost 30 per cent of businesses said that clients had never requested information on their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policies and more than a third didn’t even know that environmentally friendly printing was possible.

The biggest issue in print remains quality – and so any perception that green printing is somehow less polished than non-environmentally friendly printing must be avoided.

But, by a long stretch, the biggest barrier to the adoption of green printing is the perception that it costs more.

Most of those surveyed said that they could not use environmentally friendly printing because clients wouldn’t pay the extra that it costs.

However, for our clients, there is no additional charge at all Brunelone.com does not charge anything extra for its green print. However green print and the use of 100% recycled paper is different and we do have to charge more for recycled paper.

But what is green print anyway?

Green print or climate neutral printing is in essence, making sure that every part of the printing process from inks to paper has as little impact on the environment as possible.

BrunelOne is certified to the ISO14001 environmental standard, which means we minimise how all our operational processes impact the environment. Our print machinery and technology is cutting edge, and sourced from the world’s top manufacturers who consider environmental impact in every aspect of design & build.

As well as this, we are certified by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest certification (PEFC). This supports sustainable management of forests, and mean that every sheet of paper we use can be traced back to its source.

But we go further than this. Creating carbon emissions in the production and finishing of print is unavoidable and even general business activity creates carbon emissions.

This is why BrunelOne.com is proud to support two projects, in association with ClimatePartner, which together help avoid the creation of more CO2, and actively remove CO2 from the atmosphere.

ClimatePartner supports companies across all business sectors to reduce their carbon impact on the planet.

Together with ClimatePartner, we calculate the CO2 emissions generated by our company, and invest in projects to offset this.

It's about online too - and the whole business?

As well as offsetting our end-to-end printing processes, we have also assessed the carbon impact of the rest of our operations from our website (the running of servers, electricity and more all contribute to environmental damage) to distribution and even staff travel.

All of these things will be factored in to the support of our two carbon projects, making BrunelOne not only a green printer, but also, as mentioned earlier, none of this will cost our customers any extra. We believe that this is simply a responsible way for us to do business.

Why being green matters.

While many businesses may not currently prioritise environmental concerns several recent pieces of research have shown that environmental and CSR issues will only become increasingly important as time goes on. Meaning that investing in green print and environmentally friendly practices is not only good practice now, but may lead to business growth in the future.

Recent research from US insurance firm Aflac1 showed that CSR and philanthropic issues were more important for the ‘millennial’ demographic than those aged over 35 so the issue will grow in importance as more young people come into decision-making roles.

Meanwhile, a UK survey from Grant Thornton2 recorded client and consumer demand as the most important driver of good CSR policies and suggested that ethical practices in business could be the competitive edge that helps companies take the lead.

What we are doing - Project 1

The first project that BrunelOne.com is supporting is based in Western Kenya. The project provides access to clean water by distributing microbiological water purification units to households and communities. Crucially, this means that water no longer has to be purified by the traditional methods, involving boiling water over an open fire. Both the reduction in use of and demand for firewood inherent in this project will directly lower CO2 emissions.

The purification units do not use any electricity and rely on gravity to clean the water. And of course, as well as reducing CO2 emissions, the project’s most important benefit is the delivery of clean drinking water in a region of the world that desperately needs it.

In rural Kenya, diseases from contaminated water are rife diarrhoea is the third leading cause of death amongst Kenyan adults and children, according to the World Health Organisation.

Along with better health, reduced morbidity and lower CO2 emissions, the project also provides employment for thousands of Kenyans, reduces indoor pollution as less wood is burnt, and even improves attendance at school as general health improves. Helping communities to access clean and safe drinking water has positive impacts so much greater than health and the environment.

Currently, 3.6 million people in the Western province of Kenya have access and use the water purification units on a regular basis and with the support of companies like BrunelOne.com, this number is only set to increase.

What we are doing - Project 2

On the Pacific island of Papua New Guinea, north of Australia, is the world’s third largest rainforest.

This forest is home to an incredible seven per cent of the world’s biodiversity, as well as a number of forest dependent tribes and societies.

As many people now know, the rainforests are one of the most important global ‘sinks’ for CO2 that is to say, they absorb a lot of the carbon produced in the world.

This project focuses on an area of rainforest 600,000 hectares that was originally intended for commercial logging.

Local societies both have a strong connection with the rainforest and want to protect it, but are also desperate for the development of basic facilities such as improvements to basic education, health and transport.

These economic factors are often the drivers of the logging and clearance of the rainforests.

This project helps to preserve this precious natural resource by financially supporting local landowners to manage the forest ultimately, for the benefit of the whole planet. Which, of course, helps reduce global CO2 emissions over a million tonnes of CO2 and equivalents reduction annually.

As well as this, our support of this project helps to protect global biodiversity, provide local health and infrastructure facilities and maintain the local communities and their way of life.

Why do we do this.

For us at BrunelOne, being a climate/carbon neutral business is inherent in our company. It isn’t ‘greenwashing’ or box-ticking but simply the right thing to do.

Though most people now recognise the impact that carbon emissions have on the world, in the form of global warming, there is still no imperative to act.

As our research showed, many businesses don’t see an inherent need for green printing practices it is something that is done only when clients request it.

As such, we believe it is our responsibility to make these choices easier for our clients.